Bamboo Pandits: A Furry Trio Armed with Rockets, Dumplings and Smoke Bombs
A summary of ELK Studios’ new release Bamboo Pandits. The key points are a 5×5 35-payline grid with multipliers, wilds and Mystery Pandits, Gust of Wind, and a 6×6 44-payline bonus. Max RTP 94%, max win 10,000x.
Key takeaways
- ELK Studios released Bamboo Pandits, a slot about a trio of pandas, on October 6.
- Three Pandits each collect rockets, dumplings or smoke bombs and spread multipliers, big wilds and mystery symbols.
- The bonus is boosted by a wheel, then played on 6×6 with 44 fixed paylines.
- The max RTP is 94%, 2 percentage points lower than ELK’s last three new releases.
One carries rockets on his back, one holds a tray piled with dumplings, and the last hugs a jar of smoke bombs. They are the stars of Bamboo Pandits, released by ELK Studios on October 6. The official description calls them three fearless Pandits “ready to go full bamboo.”
Pandit is a pun mixing Panda and Bandit. The idea is that they have plenty of attitude and appetite, and a knack for turning calm into chaos. The game runs on 5 reels, 5 rows and 35 paylines.
The launch video opens on a rooftop in a mountain village with a pagoda rising above it. Firework rockets shoot up and cherry blossom petals drift, then a logo framed in bamboo appears. It ends with blue smoke covering the screen. The three Pandits’ signature items, rockets, dumplings and smoke bombs, all appear within the 6 seconds.
Among ELK’s new releases since this summer, Bamboo Pandits is the lightest. After the bird temple adventure, the ducks’ pond party and the grizzly’s dash, this time it is the troublemakers of the bamboo forest. The weight is on character personality rather than story, and the features are divided one per character.
Each Pandit collects different items
Each of the three Pandits has its own collected item and its own job. What they have in common is that once the item is collected, they use the feature and then give a respin.
| Pandits | Collected item | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Multiplier Pandit | Rocket | Places multipliers in random positions and gives a respin |
| Wild Pandit | Dumplings | Jumps onto the grid as a Big Wild and gives a respin |
| Mystery Pandit | Smoke bomb | Places Mystery symbols in random positions and gives a respin |
In the official artwork, the one holding the rocket looks like a red panda, the one with the dumpling a panda, and the one with the smoke bomb a raccoon.
All three features lead to respins, so a single spin can stretch out for a long time. Combinations such as a Big Wild landing on top of a multiplier placed by the rocket are also possible. However, the product sheet words each feature as “may,” so collecting items does not always trigger it.
Wind before the spin
The fourth feature is not a Pandit but the weather. Gust of Wind can trigger at random before any spin begins. When the wind blows, several feature symbols or bonus symbols are added to the reels.
This is the scene where the items the Pandits collect come blowing in all at once. When bonus symbols are carried in too, it can lead straight to the bonus. The product sheet even includes an image of petal winds dropping bonus symbols onto the grid.
The bonus starts with a wheel spin
When 3 or more bonus symbols land, a wheel spins first. The wheel result boosts the bonus game before you enter the main game. In the wheel graphic from the product sheet, there are segments representing the three Pandits.
The bonus grid widens to 6×6 and the paylines increase to 44 fixed paylines. A Pandit that is activated once during the bonus stays until the end. The more Pandits wake up, the stronger the later part of the bonus becomes.
The change from 35 paylines in the base game to 44 in the bonus is not small either. The grid widens from 5×5 to 6×6, adding nine paylines. While active Pandits remain and keep the respins going, there are also more spots for wins on the extra paylines.
X-iter™ has five tiers. A 2.5x bet Bonus Hunt raises bonus odds by more than 3 times, followed by the 5x Mega Hunt, 25x Lucky Wind, 100x Bonus and 250x Maxed Bonus. The bonus buy entry point starts at 2.5x, the same as Quackers.
Looking at the X-iter in ELK’s last four new releases side by side, a pattern shows up. The five-tier frame is the same, and the middle slot holds a feature unique to each game. Pirots 5 has a 50x coin game, Grizzly Stampede a 25x bear mode, and Bamboo Pandits a 25x Lucky Wind. Only Quackers has a 500x top price; the other three top out at 250x.
Lowest RTP of ELK’s last four releases
Putting ELK’s new releases since this summer side by side with their official figures shows where Bamboo Pandits stands.
| Games | Max RTP | Volatility | Max win | Hit frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirots 5 | 96.0% | 7/10 | 10,000x | 25.1% |
| Quackers | 96.0% | 7/10 | 10,000x | 29.7% |
| Grizzly Stampede | 96.0% | 8/10 | 50,000x | 24.8% |
| Bamboo Pandits | 94.0% | 6/10 | 10,000x | 25.3% |
The max RTP is 94.0%, 2 percentage points lower than the other three. The range by market is also 87.0-94.0%. In exchange, its volatility is 6, the lowest of the four. It is closer to a flow where Pandit features and respins trigger often than one of big single hits. Bets range from €0.20 to €100, and the max payout cap is €1 million.
The lower RTP is hard to notice in a demo. Even for the same game, the version an operator chooses could be 87%. Before playing for real, it is worth making a habit of checking the RTP figure on the in-game info screen.
In short
Bamboo Pandits is a game where three characters each collect a different item and use a different feature. The rocket is for multipliers, the dumplings for Big Wilds, and the smoke bomb for Mystery symbols. Gust of Wind carries those items in, and the bonus is boosted by a wheel and played on 6×6. The 94% max RTP is something to keep in mind. It is also worth comparing with other ELK Studios games.
Sources: ELK Studios official news · ELK Studios product sheet · ELK Studios official game page